Walmer High School is proving to be home to some of the greenest kids on the block and for their efforts six pupils will soon be jetting off to Cape Town to compete for the 2024 SA Climate Change Champs title.
The school’s Adhere Green Economy and Green Avatars teams are among the eight finalists competing at the national final in July hosted by GreenCape.
The finalists were selected from more than 40 youth groups — consisting of teams of grade 9 to matric pupils — who gave presentations on powering their communities through a resilient transition to a green economy.
Walmer High principal Lunga Dyani said they were exceptionally proud of the pupils who would represent the province.
“This is such good news and exposure for our school,” Dyani said.
“Making it to the finals in this type of competition, on our first try, illustrates the awareness of our pupils about the importance of the environment and the need to protect it.
“Education is not just about learning in the classroom, it requires a holistic approach and thanks to teachers like [geography teacher Athenkosi] Mnukwa, who was the driving force behind the teams, our pupils are receiving that type of education.”
Mnukwa said the group of pupils had displayed exceptional dedication to their projects.
“I am very proud of the pupils and what they produced,” he said.
“Being a geography teacher I have always been aware about the importance of protecting the environment and I am happy to see the same in my pupils.
“Even if they don’t win the finals, they have all displayed their potential and exceeded our expectations.”
SA Climate Change Champs project lead Wade de Kock said the main objective was to inspire the youth to think of problems affecting their homes, schools and broader communities and develop a project which showed how green economy solutions could address these issues.
“The aim of the competition is to capacitate the youth to engage in active citizenship by advocating for a just transition to a green economy that will benefit communities,” he said.
“Such a platform sets out to amplify the youth to find a representative voice in climate change and just transition policy discussions and aims to create practical awareness of a green economy beyond the classroom.”
GreenCape aims to enable proactive, constructive and collaborative engagement by communities, women and the youth in climate mitigation and adaptation.
For this year’s competition, the categories spanned key green economy sectors such as agriculture, energy, waste and water.
The judging panel was made up of members from community groups, local government, various interest groups such as Contour Enviro Group, Masiphakameni Local Development Agency, Namakwa district municipality, Surplus People Project, Saldanha Bay municipality and West Coast Fossil Park.
The other finalists include Northern Cape teams: Blue Bulls — Carlton van Heerden High School, River Rangers — St Anna Private School and Trio WR — Paballelo High School.
From the Western Cape: Green Eco — Khanyolwethu Secondary School, Green Fingers — Emil Weder High School and Little Green Monsters — Emil Weder High School
HeraldLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.